A retired Riverside police chief who has advocated for a national database of officers who committed misconduct is ramping up that call after the fatal shooting a Black woman, Sonya Massey of Springfield, by former Sangamon County Deputy Sheriff Sean Grayson.
Tom Weitzel, who has 37 years in law enforcement and served as the Riverside police chief from 2008 to 2021, was part of an effort in 2020 after the murder of George Floyd to advocate for some police reform. Weitzel said that during an address to the Riverside community in 2020, he advocated for such a database to deter “problematic” police officers like Grayson who might go from police department from police department. However, most police chiefs disagreed on that initiative, Weitzel said.
But with the nation’s attention focused on Massey, Weitzel said he believes the present time is the best for law enforcement agencies to advocate for this database.
“Now’s the time for chief’s and sheriff’s organizations to say, ‘Hey, we do need better tools, we do need funding’ and I think they would get it,” Weitzel said.
In Grayson’s case, there were flags, Weitzel said, including that he worked for several law enforcement agencies in a short amount of time.
“That in it of itself, just moving from department to department, is not an indication of a bad police officer, but what is an indication is six departments in four years,” Weitzel said.
A tracking system could have flagged that, he said.
In 2023, the Justice Department created a tracking database for federal law enforcement officers found guilty of misconduct. A National Decertification Index also exists, but all state and local agencies do not use it, citing cost, labor burden and a fear of “blacklisting” officers. In 2021, the State of Illinois expanded officials’ ability to decertify police officers and to track them if they sought employment in other jurisdictions. But the list of those reported is not public, and, as Weitzel pointed out, investigations into preliminary complaints are not always carried out.
But Weitzel argued that a mandatory, national database that can systematize reporting about police officers who commit crimes or other serious, policy violations would prove helpful for departments doing background checks on candidates. Weitzel said this national database should be accessible by police departments on all levels in the United States, including municipal police departments like Riverside, state police, the military police, and specialized police departments like campus police at colleges or universities.
Widespread use of a national database allows better communication across all law enforcement agencies, Weitzel said. This way, police departments would be able to update the records of officers who have committed a policy violation or misjudgment while on the job. If police departments had this resource where they would be able to see this information, Weitzel said the presence of that database would deter police officers from moving from department to department due to their behavior and actions, otherwise known as “shopping.”
“A lot of times bad policemen will shop. They’re like ‘Oh, I got fired here, so now I’m going to apply in Indiana or I’m going to apply in Wisconsin,’” Weitzel said. “I would hope [this database] would keep bad police officers from shopping, but it would also be reliable on the police departments. They have got to spend the time and money to do really good background investigations.”
On July 17, Grayson, who is white, shot Massey, 36, who had called 911 to report possible prowler at her home. He has pleaded innocent. Reports show that that he had for six law enforcement agencies in four years, was charged with driving under the influence twice, discharged from the Army for misconduct, and has a history of serious policy violations including disobeying orders from a superior officer.
Weitzel said the military records detailing Grayson’s behavior in the Army should have raised concerns about the ex-deputy’s character and ability to serve in law enforcement.
One report obtained from a public records request said that Grayson needed more training and a “high-stress decision-making” class after the high-speed pursuit chase.
“I think this national database would be able to put that information in,” Weitzel said. “Put in not only that this officer X, but put in what he’s being discharged for, what the offence was, did he admit to the offence.”
Weitzel added that as long as the reports of policy violations or misconduct against an officer are sustained with evidence, they should be public. Police officers also should have the ability to contest or appeal an accusation before a report is made public in a database.
“We need this national database to be able to put in information that’s factual on police officers – that there has to be a mechanism for officers that contest it,” Weitzel said. “But that shouldn’t keep it from being public.”
To gain financial support for more extensive background checks and this national database, police departments should be lobbying both state and federal legislators and advocate for these initiatives, Weitzel said. While he was police chief, Weitzel said his department received annual grant funding for operations like traffic enforcement, equipment and more officers on the street to enforce DUIs during the holidays.